The weight of the region remains one of our biggest challenges: Phillip Morris

One day before the United States Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health care law, the Food and Drug administration approved Belviq, the nation's latest obesity fighting drug.

There is some irony in the timing if, for no other reason, excessive weight continues to be a chronic driver of the nation’s staggering health care costs, preventable human suffering, premature death and health care research.

But will a miracle drug with side effects that can include muscle spasms, tremors, diarrhea and disturbances in memory be anymore effective in advancing American health than a divisive health care law that has also induced muscle spasms, tremors, diarrhea and disturbances in memory for many?

I suppose ones’ political perspective and personal experience mostly frame the answer to that question. But here’s an equally difficult question: How can we as individuals and communities throughout the nation effectively address the sweeping social and financial challenges created by the 78 million obese adults in the United States?

The primary health side effects of obesity are well known: diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. Those are the deeply personal costs. But the $147 billion a year in medical expenses and lost productivity is the profound cost to an entire nation.

That’s why the obesity conversation is critical to us all. That is why the conversation cannot afford to be politicized, politically corrected, shrouded in ignorance or silence.

Fortunately, Greater Cleveland appears ready to address fat issues head on. That’s promising given that we are a region attempting to refashion ourselves as a medical Mecca, while bearing the stigma of being routinely labeled one of America’s most overweight cities.

I asked to hear your thoughts last week on our collective girth, its causes, costs and solutions. You didn’t disappoint. I heard from hundreds of you.

Your comments were overwhelmingly thoughtful, studied and often personal. Although this is a dialogue that easily lends itself to being sidetracked by issues of race, class, education, or other bigotries, the overwhelming majority that I heard from understood far better.

You demonstrated your understanding that the nature of this conversation must really be about awareness, choices and responsibility at both the corporate, community and, especially, individual levels.

This lifestyle conversation about what we eat and how we eat is really about saving lives, reducing suffering, increasing productivity and, yes, keeping more of our earned money in our own pockets.

But the challenges are clear even as the respectful voices and personal experiences are extraordinarily varied.

“I believe that people know that someone else will continue to take care of them: a pill, the government or their health care plan. I don’t think people are taking responsibility for their own health,” one reader responded.

But a number of other people echoed the sentiments of the following reader:“My weight has been up and down most of my adult life. There is something in my wiring that draws me to food, much as an alcoholic is drawn to their drug of choice. The difference, I have to eat to live.”

And then there was this comment that I will use to continue to frame this obesity conversation in coming weeks. I think it is a useful jumping off point for a dialogue with health professionals, politicians or those who quietly struggle with weight issues, diet ignorance or easy and affordable access to healthy food.

“It is very frustrating to watch the amazing popularity and growth of urban farming and local farmers markets only to see fast food restaurants offer bacon sundaes to lure people back into something completely unhealthy and unnecessary,” wrote a 42-year-old woman from Sagamore Hills.

“It has always been my opinion that you can trace almost every problem in the United States to a lack of responsibility and moderation. I’m health conscience, not obsessed. It’s a very simple concept.”

I will continue to address the punishing fiscal costs of our collective girth as well as attempt to share and advance your thoughtful ideas and solutions about advancing a healthier local culture.

But sometimes, of course, the solutions to our most vexing and expensive problems are right beneath our noses.

Researchers in Iowa recently published a study that purports to prove that Ursolic acid, found on the coats of apples, contains powerful properties that fight fat and obesity-related diseases.

In the age of wonder drugs like Belviq, something rings encouragingly true to that old apple-a-day adage. Let's not make fighting fat more complex then we must.

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